Ocean focus for 'Avatar' sequel

Director James Cameron says a sequel to the blockbuster hit <i>Avatar</i> will be set in the oceans of the fictional planet Pandora.

A sequel to the blockbuster hit Avatar would be set in the fictional planet Pandora’s oceans, according to legendary director James Cameron.

In an interview with The Los Angeles Times, Cameron said he never intended to wade into discussions about environmental policy. But he said the film became a “call to action.”

Cameron also told The Times that a sequel to the picture would be in the water. “Part of my focus in the second film is in creating a different environment — a different setting within Pandora,” he said. “And I’m going to be focusing on the ocean on Pandora, which will be equally rich and diverse and crazy and imaginative, but it just won’t be a rain forest. I’m not saying we won’t see what we’ve already seen; we’ll see more of that as well.”

Avatar is returning to theaters this summer with six more minutes of footage, but the DVD version hit shelves on Earth Day.

Cameron told the paper that more action on climate change is needed.

“In the particular case of Avatar, I found there’s a call to action and a sense of duty that’s emerged from it,” he said, adding that it wasn’t his intention going into the film. “Turns out there aren’t that many people figuring out what to do,” he said, noting that political leaders “have been scared off by the right and the fossil fuel lobbies.”

The average American doesn’t believe climate change is real, he charged. “They think it’s all a hoax,” he said.

“Here’s my philosophy in life: if there’s a fire, you put it out,” he said. “You roll up your sleeves and you get to work. I think we’re facing that kind of crisis, and I’m not going to stand around and leave it to someone else to deal with it.”

Avatar, using unprecedented 3-D technology, hit theaters in December 2009 and became a top-grossing film. With a hefty $500 million budget, Cameron said his challenge for the next film will be “to do what we did before at half the price and in half the time.”

The Titanic director did not rule out a trilogy after the second Avatar movie is complete. The third installment could involve space travel, according to reports.

“We created a broad canvas for the environment of film. That’s not just on Pandora, but throughout the Alpha Centauri AB system,” he said. “And we expand out across that system and incorporate more into the story — not necessarily in the second film, but more toward a third film.”